1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a barbecue grill apparatus and, more particularly, to a barbecue grill apparatus good for cooking food and keeping it warm.
2. Related Prior Art
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,520,290, a conventional grill 10 includes a casing 11, a cooking grate 20, a cover 25, a warming grate 29, two grate-supporting brackets 30, two attaching brackets 44, two guide arms 47 and two latches 51. The cooking grate 20 is placed in the casing 11. The cover 25 is pivotally connected to the casing 11. The warming grate 29 is detachably supported on the grate-supporting brackets 30. Each grate-supporting bracket 30 includes a base 33 connected to a groove element 37 by two posts 38 and 39. The base 33 of each grate-supporting bracket 30 is secured to the casing 12. Each attaching bracket 44 includes an aperture 44b defined therein and is attached to the cover 25. Each guide arm 47 includes a pin 49 secured thereto. Each latch 51 includes a notched end 51b. Each guide arm 47 is pivotally connected to a corresponding leg 39. Each latch 51 is pivotally connected to a corresponding guide arm 47. Each pin 49 is inserted through a corresponding aperture 44b. The notched end 51b of each latch 51 is engaged with a corresponding pin 49. Thus, the grate-supporting brackets 30 are extended to place the warming grate 29 horizontally for use when the cover 25 is lifted from the casing 11. The use of the grill 10 is not without any problems. To add coal into the casing 11 from time to time, the cooking grate 20 has to be removed or lifted from the casing 11. A user may remove food from the cooking grate 20 before he or she uses a hand to remove or lift the cooking grate 20 from the casing 11 and uses the other hand to add coal into the casing 11. Alternatively, the user may leave the food on the cooking grate 20 and use both hands to move the cooking grate 20 to a safe place from the casing 11 before he or she uses a hand to add coal into the casing 11. Both practices are inconvenient. Moreover, the addition of coal deep into a rear portion of the interior of the casing 11 is hindered by the warming grate 29.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,437, another conventional barbecue grill 12 includes a housing 16, a cover 18, a gas burner 20, a cooking grill 22, a lower warming rack 24, a lower U-shaped bail 25, an upper warming rack 26 and an upper U-shaped bail 34. The cover 18 is pivotally connected to the housing 16. The gas burner 20 is placed in and connected to the housing 16. The cooking grill 22 is placed in the housing 16. The lower warming rack 24 and the upper warming rack 26 are pivotally connected to the cover 18. The lower U-shaped bail 25 includes a lower portion pivotally connected to the housing 16 and an upper portion pivotally connected to the lower warming rack 24. The upper U-shaped bail 34 includes a lower portion movably connected to the lower warming rack 24 and an upper portion pivotally connected to the upper warming rack 26. Thus, the warming racks 24 and 26 are placed horizontally for use when the cover 18 is lift from the housing 16. This configuration is suitable for gas-burning grills, not for coal-burning grills. To add coal into the housing 16 from time to time, the cooking grill 22 has to be removed or lifted from the housing 16. However, the movement of the cooking grill 22 is hindered by the lower U-shaped bail 34. A user may remove food from the cooking grill 22 before he or she uses a hand to remove or lift the cooking grill 22 from the housing 16 and uses the other hand to add coal into the housing 16. Alternatively, the user may leave the food on the cooking grill 22 and use both hands to move the cooking grill 22 to a safe place from the housing 16 before he or she uses a hand to add coal into the housing 16. Moreover, the addition of coal deep into a rear portion of the interior of the housing 16 is hindered by the lower warming rack 24.
As disclosed in US Patent Application Publication 2006/0086354, another conventional grill 100 includes a housing 162, a cover 164, a cooking structure 170, a warming rack 110, two supports 120 and two mounting devices 130. The cover 164 is pivotally connected to the housing 162. The cooking structure 170 is placed in the housing 162. Each support 120 includes two legs 124 extending from a beam 126. Each leg 124 is pivotally connected to the cooking structure 170 by a corresponding mounting device 130. The warming rack 110 is connected to the beams of the supports 120. The use of the grill 100 is not without any problems. The lifting of the cover 164 from the housing 162 does not automatically place the warming rack 110 in an active position because the warming rack 110 is not connected to the cover 164. Therefore, a user has to lift the cover 164 before he or she can place the warming rack 110 in an active position. Moreover, to add coal into the housing 162 from time to time, the user has to remove all of the cooking structure 170, the warming rack 110, the supports 120 and the mounting devices 130 from the housing 162, and this could be a heavy load for the user. The user may remove food from the cooking structure 170 before he or she uses a hand to remove or lift the cooking structure 170, the warming rack 110, the supports 120 and the mounting devices 130 from the housing 162 and uses the other hand to add coal into the housing 162. Alternatively, the user may leave the food on the cooking structure 170 and the warming rack 110 and use both hands to move the cooking structure 170, the warming rack 110, the supports 120 and the mounting devices 130 to a safe place from the housing 162 before he or she uses a hand to add coal into the housing 162.
Therefore, the present invention is intended to obviate or at least alleviate the problems encountered in prior art.